THEN! Following a final bout with the Leviathans and their leader Dick Roman - who munched the scenery as enthusiastically as he did humans - Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Castiel (Misha Collins) were left stranded in Purgatory. With prophet Kevin Tran (Osric Chau) spirited away by Crowley (Mark Sheppard), poor Sam (Jared Padalecki) was left all alone...

NOW! One year later, a bloodied Dean returns to Earth for an awkward reunion with his brother, but what has Sam been up to for the past 12 months? And what's happened to Kevin? The Winchesters need to talk...

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Carry On, My Wayward Son... "Dad wants us to pick up where he left off - saving people, hunting things… the family business!" - new Supernatural showrunner Jeremy Carver's mission statement since coming back aboard the long-running CW drama was to take the series back to the feel of the early seasons - those regarded by many as the show's 'glory years'...

His aim is crystal clear from the opening moments of 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' onward - we open with that classic Dean quote straight from the show's second-ever episode and even get references to Mary Winchester and even pilot fodder Jessica (Adrianne Palicki). The absence of Cas or Bobby (Jim Beaver) also seems like a calculated attempt to reflect the show's early seasons, but while its a valiant attempt, Supernatural's season eight premiere isn't entirely successful in recapturing what once made the show so great.

We pick up a year after season seven's finale as a bloodied Dean returns to Earth - clearly having done some mysterious and presumably unspeakable things in order to survive in Purgatory. The elder Winchester is a changed man - he's even teamed up with a vampire, the grizzled Benny (Ty Olsson), to return home...

Sam meanwhile has 'done a Dean' and, temporarily at least, settled down into a normal life with a lovely lady - leading to a rather tense reunion between the brothers as Dean discovers that his younger sibling has apparently been neglecting his hunter 'duties' during their time apart. Sam's seemingly been rather irresponsible, neglecting poor Kevin Tran since he was too busy being guilt-tripped into adopting a dog by sassy veterinarian Amelia (Liane Balaban).

Dean's furious at his brother, but it's a bit rich of him to criticise Sam for giving up the hunter's life when he did the *exact same thing* not too long ago. It seems slightly remiss of Sam not to raise that very point when he becomes the victim of Dean's verbal lashings - maybe he's just too nice?

Personally, we're happy that Sam took a little time off, since Kevin Tran's time spent alone has done him wonders - the once-irritating bookworm stereotype has been transformed into something of a bad-ass, tricking Crowley and pulling off his own escape from the King of Hell's clutches. Even Dean is impressed.

The new-and-improved Kevin also brings with him some scoop from the Word of God - a spell exists that could potentially seal the gates of Hell forever - an intriguing story arc for this eighth season and one that's immediately more arresting than any of last year's Leviathan nonsense.

But as we hinted previously, 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' doesn't get everything right. One of the strongest aspects of early Supernatural - the early period that Carver's desperate to emulate - was its humour. There's the odd hint of that here and there, but with Dean in tortured war veteran mode and Sammy still heartbroken from whatever went down with the vet, there's not much room for jollity - hopefully that will change as the brothers (presumably) repair their relationship in the coming weeks.

Overall, this season opener is a step in the right direction for Supernatural - all of the pieces haven't quite fallen into place yet, but 'Kevin' is a strong enough premiere that we're willing - if you'll excuse the pun - to take another leap of faith.

Sam Winchester Hair Watch - One notable aspect of this episode that we haven't addressed yet is Jared Padalecki's barnet. His mop has grown steadily longer since Supernatural began in 2005 and it's now so impressively lengthy that it blows in the wind when he walks, like something out a shampoo advert. Quite distracting.

What did you make of the Supernatural season eight premiere? Share your thoughts below!